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Monday, September 19, 2011

"Blue" Velvet Cupcakes with Blackberry Curd & Limoncello Frosting

This weekend was the ever wonderful Maconda's bridal shower. Since Kevin and I are quite proud of our big "sister" and excited for her impending nuptials (you'd be excited too if you had my sweet dance moves), we decided to pitch in and help with the catering to make her evening special and delicious. While Kevin prepared a lovely crab and corn chowder, I decided to make something far more manly: cupcakes. I tapped into the vast stores of baking knowledge Jenny has imparted in me and made some incredible blue green velvet cupcakes filled with blackberry curd and topped with a limoncello cream cheese frosting.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the toothpick test comes out clean. Make sure to rotate (and switch racks if using 2) halfway through.

Let cool on a wire rack.

Once cool, use an apple corer to cut out a hole in the top and fill with the curd.

Top with frosting.

Sadly, baking did not cause them to magically revert back to blue.

The cakes themselves aren't overly chocolatey, but they were among the best velvet cupcakes I have had. They reminded me of cookies and cream ice cream, which is a very good thing. I chose blue velvet because the shower had a blue theme to it. Little did I know, blue is apparently the hardest color to make, and my mixture went from neon smurf to a dark green (hey, it's the thought that counts). The coloring issues probably stemmed from the lack of food coloring options available at the store. Typically, blue velvet is made with a tablespoon of royal blue gel and a tiny bit of violet, but all I could find was normal blue.

Combine the blackberries and water in a pot and simmer until the blackberries start to easily come apart.

Pour the mixture through a strainer and press the blackberries to release the rest of the juice.

Mix the sugar and flour in a separate, clean pot.

Slowly pour in the juice while whisking constantly until fully incorporated

Add the eggs and egg yolks while whisking over medium-low heat until the mixture begins to thicken.

Once the curd has formed (about 7 minutes), remove from heat and stir in the butter.

Cool it in the fridge.

We need to find a new word for "curd" because curd just doesn't sound appetizing.

If you've read my previous cupcake posts, you know I'm a firm believer that every cupcake should have a filling or glaze to make it more exciting. This curd helped ratchet up the flavor and add a nice hint of tartness (and neat color). It also was great for dying the wooden spoon, several pots and some unimportant clothing.

When making cupcakes in Texas (or when you have my horrible piping technique), you need a frosting gun.

Cream the butter and cream cheese together in a mixer until fluffy.

Mix in the limoncello.

Add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time.

Much prettier than my usual frosting.

Since I was baking for a bridal shower, I thought the ladies would appreciate a boozy cupcake. Jenny and I had previously made this frosting for some amazing lemon-blueberry cupcakes, so I was confident it would be delicious. It really stands out from typical cream cheese frosting, and the lemon provides a nice little finish that doesn't overpower.

Fancied up with some gold dusting and put on display (a technique also known as: how one pays for college)

There was a lot going on in these cupcakes, so I was pretty worried about how they'd turn out. I knew the lemon and blackberry would pair well together, but I had no clue how they'd mesh with the velvet cake. In the end, these turned out to be among my favorite cupcakes ever. The three components work together to provide a truly unique experience. Traditional red velvet has been done to death (Don't even think of giving Florian one on Cupcake Wars), so these are a fantastic way to put a new spin on an old crowd pleaser for any party. Judging by the disappearing act the cupcakes had pulled when I showed up later, I would say they were a success (or the ladies got rowdy and started throwing them at things).

I have a feeling most of my friends wouldn't mind if I gave cupcakes in lieu of a real gift.

I was lucky enough to be a guest at this shower and these cupcakes were delicious. Red (or whatever color) velvet is often way dry, but these stayed moist, and I really liked the way the tang in the curd & frosting played off of the cupcake.